Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done

I did not accomplish as much this week as I would have liked to, including composing my weekly blog until this morning.

A couple specific things consumed the better part of two days: One was our first chicken killing and all the setup associated with it. The second was the purchase of a new (to me) truck.

In many ways I felt like the young lady in this graphic this past week:

Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done.

I’ll just say a few things about the purchase of my truck and leave comments about our chicken killing for another day.

I realize that my personal practices and preferences may not work for everyone, but hopefully some of y’all will be able to take something from my experiences.

1. For many decades now I’ve done all that I could to stay out of debt. I’ve not made payments on a vehicle since sometime in the 70s and the same may be said for paying interest on a credit card, or anything else. The only exception was mortgage payments on our home.
   
   
2. Basically, if we cannot afford to pay cash for something, we don’t purchase it until we can. This includes EVERYTHING . . . with the possible exception of a home. We paid off our house as quickly as we could, some twenty years ago, and have been ABSOLUTELY debt free since then.
   
   
3. Actually, I’ve almost never made credit card payments. I’m just not wealthy enough to afford the interest payments.
   
   
4. I use credit cards purely as a convenience and pay them off in full EACH MONTH -- never carrying a balance. If I could not manage to handle them in this manner, I would cut them up and throw them away. The first rule of holes . . . when you find yourself at the bottom of one . . . STOP DIGGING

I’m hardly the perfect example. I’m not nearly as frugal as I ought to be, but given the times we live in, I strongly encourage everyone to get out of debt as soon as possible.

Paying cash allows you to avoid paying for expensive collision insurance as well. I pay for liability and buy vehicles that I could afford to replace should something unforeseen happen.

I realize that everyone’s circumstances differ and that things happen that may require different strategies, but I submit these thoughts -- just for your consideration.

And consider this thought from the Scriptures: "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." -- Proverbs 22:7

Anyway here is my latest truck (my old one just turned over 200,000 miles and was on its last leg, so a replacement had become necessary). The dealership took the photo for their Facebook page.

It’s a 14 year old 2002 Nissan Frontier with only 52,500 miles on it. A small independent dealer helped me find it. Lord willing it could well last another 15 years, at which time I would be 80, should the Lord tarry and should He determine that I live so long.

Y’all stay strong.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!
STAY IN THE FIGHT!
NEVER GIVE UP!
NEVER QUIT!

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